


charm school

by macha



Series: Georgia on My Mind [11]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-09
Updated: 2007-08-09
Packaged: 2017-10-18 11:47:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/188593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macha/pseuds/macha





	charm school

###  _A03.04.01 Ad Astra Era: in memory, at the bar_

and the name of the tale is:

### charm school

that's a dark and hungry look you're casting. see anything you like?

it's all too frigging complicated to negotiate. and the fashion for Triads only makes it worse.

they do have their charms.

yeah, right. course, rumor has it you're chockful of legendary charms, and that might help.

comes with the package. you going for a lone wolf reputation?

i like my parties down and dirty, short and sweet, no cleanup after.

oh, my dear.

don't you go all dear girl in my direction. it's just that making a setup stable requires a whole lot more patience than i've got. stands to reason any triad, when you do the math, is only gonna double that. i don't want the grief. guess i never really got the domestic end.

i never got it either. looking back -

you can't deny you spent 150 years with Angelus.

well, yes. and never did get bored, at least until he got the soul.

must have meant something.

to me? it kept me young. you couldn't call it love, though, which made it simpler to maintain.

still, there you were, looking like a family unit. sorta, anyhow.

honestly, that was his choice. i'd never even have considered inviting Dru and Spike to share. he was the one who invested in playing Father. paterfamilias Angelus. he killed his own, you know.

he was good to me. once upon a time. i thought we were a lot alike. certainly i owed him.

he tried. maybe his epitaph. of course, i didn't. so what's mine?

yet you came in from the cold in the end. and he's still out there somewhere in the dark.

one of those little ironies that make me glad that life is only a distant memory.

you still maintaining that whole heartless thing? or would you say everything gets better after you're dead? enquiring minds want to know.

hunger, that one can keep you going.

and i'm guessing the energizer bunny thing is a handy benefit if you're immortal.

all i know is, it's easier to mother the stars than raise a child. best thing i ever did for mine was to let go.

you sure about that? i admit, he seems to have done pretty well in the end. pain in the ass as a kid, but it can't have been easy.

i hear he had a bit of a crush on you, back then.

maybe. i wasn't looking for distraction at the time. i like him well enough, these days, but he's not so lost that even i - well, he could do better. and i don't want the grief of afters. Dawn's a better choice, for him, she'll keep him nice and do her half of the work. tell you the truth, from my perspective, they're both too young, too serious.

and too committed?

yeah, that too. i don't wanna be responsible, you know?

for what?

the shit that's sure to happen in my vicinity. don't see you going for it either, though, this close to home. in spite of those charms. how come?

i still get my pick in the larger gene pool: wherever we go, there's a lineup, once they realize what the First Messenger's all about.

global instead of local, right? i get that. don't shit where you eat. pretty good rule.

being a Slayer, don't you rate a lineup of your own?

yeah, but they treat me like a ming vase or something. not necessarily what i'm looking for. all i want is the big bang, as in 'wham bang and thank you mister - next?' and thinking shipside, could be trouble. besides, on the triad end i can never remember all the fracking rules.

the secret there is to make them up on the fly, use them to keep everyone a bit off-balance.

the off-balance part i've got down: nothing to awkward up a room like me coming into it. still, it seems rather safer to order in.

you look for safe words these days? now i'm surprised. but don't let me stop you: outsourcing the DNA is important. mating for a lifetime, considering who we are, makes for a restrictive gene pool.

and what's a lifetime, anyway, in the circles we travel in?

that kind of exclusivity is deadly, for the master plan. lucky we've got all those petri dishes.

and the all-important gro lights.

and the phantom gardeners.

and the row of freezers. and on beyond zebra...

plainly it's up to the unattached to make a difference.

practically a duty.

what are the pickings like this time, in the town?

you haven't heard? we had an interesting day of it.

do tell. i don't often hear you enthusing about any kind of meeting.

go figure. you always get treated like the Queen of Sheba at the table. i always get treated like my license has expired. especially if i've got anything to say.

alright, what happened this time?

the meeting had to be postponed; the chair declared it out of order.

oho. is that why everyone's looking a bit the worse for wear, and we're in the ship's bar when we could be in the town pub?

that's it, that's all.

honestly, i can't leave them alone for a minute. one simple bit of diplomacy...

how did your little excursion go, then? what did you learn about Angel?

it might be better if we didn't call him that. creates an expectation.

can't say i like the sound of that.

he really has gone dragon, you know. whatever it means, i can't do much with that.

it's not unusual for that class of changers to display as human, is it?

some do, some don't. in his case, he mostly does, or so i hear, except in battle. i know you're hoping that might make a difference. but in his heart of hearts, which never beats, i fear he may be gone.

you're out of weapons?

for the moment. when he despairs, not much can move him. not even me.

i seem to remember hearing about a time or two when you managed to move him even then, with spectacular results.

but now he's DragonLord. and he might be under the delusion that's what he was born for. he always did want to be meant for something.

what was he born for, you think?

on the rebirth side at least, i'm pretty sure he was born for me. the trouble is, now we've both changed sides. i did think of running a game on him, as double agent. the trouble is, with anyone else it might be fun, but there's too much history between us to make it work. and meanwhile, i have other obligations i'm not willing to set at risk.

Connor, you mean?

and Dru. and the shipcouncil business. and promises to keep. responsibilities, what the hell was i thinking? that whole free agent thing looks better all the time. i liked amoral, quite a lot.

i'm with you there. i liked no strings.

but that's just a pipe dream now.

see, that's the thing. every choice we make, so many consequences. i feel your pain. but listen, any time you see a role for me, feel free to call. i owe him. what he gave me brought me here.

i guess in a way i could say the same. but if you quote me, i'll deny it.

fair warning. so how much does it really hurt?

a whole lot more than i intend to show. you know her best. will she stop calling?

nope.

as clear as that? all right, i'll honor it. but on the other matter, what would suit you?

the perfect date? something down and dirty. everything here's too clean. i need to take it out, keep it out of here. at least, for now. the minute after, i'm just crawling, needing out. don't want to do that here, it could do damage, and i don't want that any more.

you need to hunt.

yeah, i do. the in-house bar, not the best option. a planetbound club or a spacer dive, that's my ideal, a bit of anonymous action with no consequences either way....

it's too bad Spike and Buffy don't seem inclined to Three.

B says she's Threed already. in truth, i wouldn't want to get between them. not that i could. how do you manage this problem?

perhaps i'm easier to please.

you think? i'm doubting that. how's Dana doing?

very well. and so is Dru. both of them like the company, i think.

that sounds a little dangerous.

they recognize each other. different species, but the same problem. if Dana had been broken to a purpose, the way Dru was, it might be easier to mend. but i have something i can work with.

meaning?

power i can teach her how to use.

i know that song.

that's what i'm counting on.

be careful.

i'm always careful.

not everything's predictive.

no, and that includes both thee and me. tell you what, come to tea.

i'd probably break a cup.

i'll risk it. might have some options to lay out for you.

what should i wear?

come as you are.

not sure yet, what that means.

so say we all. maybe it's time we all had our colors done.

  
* * * *

you know how sometimes not even chocolate helps?

whoa, back away from that axe. people, she's going dark.

hey, isn't that my gig? don't pee on my territory, Blondie. just tell Faithy your troubles, and if you're very very good, maybe she'll become you for a bit and sort it out.

i couldn't even suss out if we should file that under diplomacy or under war, short.

still, it beats war, nasty and war, brutish, so look on the bright. and it saves a helluva lot of filing, which is ace. it's all good.

after today's fiasco, they're gonna call me the Bitch Queen of Detruvian Space.

OO, nice handle. in that case, can i be the Bitch Queen of the Londonderry Gate?

step aside, Key not-actually-limey. i'm the Witch Queen of Everything; you're all just the mop-up crew. speaking of which, Dawnie, you've still got a little something in your hair to remember that fellow by.

o geez, you're kidding, right? i had to take three showers to get it all off. at least blood flows.

not enough antifreeze in the world to make that one right.

witch.

bitch.

i hate to break up the rehearsal, but i've got a debrief to pretend i'm not doing.

when shall we three meet again?

depends on whether i spot you first.

bad rerun of the Charming sisters?

if only.

the trouble with all this space stuff is, when Earth went poof, as an ill-thought out consequence our own pop culture failed to conquer the galaxy. and now, sadly, nobody but us will ever truly understand us.

there's tragedy for you.

complete with obligatory reference to the Scottish play. kudos, ladies.

will my hands ever be clean, that's all i want to know.

o-kay. so, just a thought, how are you sleeping?


End file.
